Episode 431
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion echoed through the air, causing Azmun to furrow his brow in irritation. He turned to his lieutenant standing nearby.
“Find out what’s going on.”
The lieutenant immediately led a group of knights toward the source of the explosion. Azmun watched them go, his expression dark and uneasy.
‘Something feels off.’
Azmun had always had a keen sense for danger. Though he couldn’t pinpoint why, his instincts had been screaming at him to leave the palace ever since the explosion. Despite the situation not being particularly disadvantageous for him, his gut told him to get out.
Suppressing his unease, Azmun took a deep breath to steady himself.
‘It’s fine. If push comes to shove, I still have the experimental subjects provided by Siemens…’
Just then, a strange noise followed the explosion.
Shhhhhh—
A sharp, hissing sound spread from the epicenter of the blast, echoing all around. Azmun stepped back, shouting to his knights.
“Something’s coming! Everyone, prepare for battle!”
The knights of Magal Palace raised their shields, forming a defensive line as they scanned their surroundings. From the far end of the palace corridor, something approached.
Shhhhhh—
Giant Komodo dragons charged toward the knights.
“Stop them!”
The sudden appearance of dozens of massive lizards in the palace threw the knights into disarray. As they struggled to regroup, dragon riders emerged from behind the reptiles.
Whoosh!
Mounted on the Komodo dragons, the dragon riders hurled spears and shot arrows at the knights of Magal Palace.
Thwack!
Though taken by surprise, the knights quickly raised their shields, deflecting the incoming attacks. But soon, the dragons began to push forward with their massive bodies.
Rumble!
The knights tried desperately to hold their ground, but it was a losing battle. As they faltered, the dragon riders leaped from their mounts, diving into the fray with twin blades drawn.
Slash!
The dragon riders cut through the knights with swift, deadly precision.
“Aaargh!”
Caught between the dragons and the riders, the knights’ formation crumbled rapidly. Azmun’s face twisted in frustration as he watched from behind.
‘Where did these monsters come from? Could they be summons from Lopocale?’
Unaware of the shadow spirits’ true nature, Azmun was thrown into confusion. But the chaos was far from over.
Slash!
Out of nowhere, black-clad figures appeared, drawing their swords and cutting through the knights as they advanced toward Azmun. These were the Black Spirit operatives, who had been captured and brought here with Zeke in a mobile prison. Somehow, they had freed themselves and were now attacking from behind.
Seeing the Black Spirit operatives, Azmun felt as if he’d been struck on the head.
‘Could it be Zeke Draker…?’
BOOM!
At that moment, a deafening crash shattered the wall, sending dust billowing into the air. Through the haze, a figure emerged—a knight wielding a massive hammer.
It was Zeke Draker, appearing unscathed.
Azmun was momentarily stunned by Zeke’s sudden appearance, but his instincts quickly kicked in, and he shouted.
“Capture him immediately!”
The knights of Magal Palace, responding to Azmun’s command, charged at Zeke. But Zeke raised his hammer, unleashing a field of force.
Rumble!
He swung the hammer, imbued with power, at the oncoming knights.
CRASH!
The leading knight was sent flying, his shield and armor crumpling as he slammed into the wall. The sheer force of the blow left the other knights frozen in place, their will to fight evaporating.
Azmun shouted at his knights.
“What are you doing? Attack him now!”
Despite his orders, none of the knights dared to approach Zeke again. They had felt the overwhelming difference in power.
‘He’s not human—he’s a monster.’
‘Charging at him would be suicide.’
Rumble!
At that moment, an aura of charisma naturally emanated from Zeke. The combined power of the Blood King Caligula and his own charisma radiated from him, exuding the presence of a supreme ruler.
The knights of Magal Palace, having lost their will to fight, found themselves lowering their weapons and kneeling before Zeke. These proud knights surrendered without even putting up a fight.
Even from a distance, Azmun could sense the extraordinary aura emanating from Zeke.
‘Everything has gone according to Zeke Draker’s plan.’
He realized that he and Lopocale had been nothing more than pawns dancing on the stage Zeke had set. Clenching his teeth, Azmun drew the sword from his back.
Zeke glanced at the sword in Azmun’s hand and spoke.
“A sword imbued with the power of the Flesh Emperor Azitahaka. Azmun Barrios, it’s too much for you to handle.”
Azmun bit his lip at Zeke’s words, then drove the sword into the ground.
Sssss—
The sword quickly absorbed the blood spilled by the fallen knights of Magal Palace.
CRACK—
The sword transformed, taking on a shape similar to before. Azmun gripped the sword, glaring at Zeke as he shouted.
“Zeke Draker! Come at me…!”
Slice—
But before he could finish, a chilling sound cut through the air, and Azmun’s arm, holding the sword, was severed.
‘What?’
Azmun couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. He stopped mid-sentence, looking up to see Zeke standing there, holding Azmun’s severed arm.
Zeke pried the sword from Azmun’s hand and dissolved the arm with the power of decay.
Sizzle—
Azmun watched in shock as his arm vanished before his eyes, finally grasping the situation.
“Zeke Draker, you bastard!”
Zeke examined the sword, shaking it slightly.
“The power of the Flesh Emperor. It’s disgustingly sticky and unpleasant.”
The sword was steeped in a sinister, oppressive aura, more so than anything from the fallen constellations. It was impossible to gauge how many souls and how much despair were trapped within it.
‘They said he was worse than Caligula. Just looking at this sword, I can see why.’
Having glimpsed Lopocale’s memories, Zeke had access to information about the Flesh Emperor Azitahaka—a human who had forsaken his humanity to become a constellation. Ramon Siemens had awakened such a being.
Zeke addressed Azmun.
“Did Ramon Siemens give you this sword himself?”
Azmun didn’t answer. He simply stared at Zeke for a moment before responding with a different statement.
“Zeke Draker, you won’t escape this place.”
“That’s for me to decide. As for you, Azmun, you’ll die here today.”
Azmun steadied his breathing and stepped back.
“Is that so?”
Suddenly, a black portal appeared in front of Azmun.
Whoosh!
Something shot out from the portal. Zeke instinctively swung his hammer at the sudden figure.
Whoosh!
The hammer, imbued with power, sliced through the air, but the attack missed its mark, passing harmlessly by. Zeke focused on the figure emerging from the portal.
‘What is that…?’
The figure had reptilian eyes and skin covered in scales thicker than steel.
‘A dragonkin?’
As Zeke pondered, a powerful aura emanated from the creature, but it lacked the draconic presence he had sensed from Abel when he transformed into a dragon.
‘A chimera mimicking a dragon’s form without a dragon’s heart.’
Judging by the aura’s corruption, it seemed to be an experimental subject created by mixing the tainted blood of the Four Fiends with dragon blood. Even if it was merely a chimera, its dragon-scale armor would likely render conventional attacks ineffective.
As Zeke considered how to deal with the creature, the chimera’s claws extended, and it charged at him.
Slash!
The chimera swiped its claws fiercely, but Zeke dodged, leaving deep gouges in the ground where he had stood. He stepped back, sheathing his hammer and drawing Bahamut.
With the sword in hand, Zeke advanced, launching a strike at the chimera in dragonkin form.
Clang!
Bahamut, forged from dragon bone, clashed against the chimera’s scales. The impact rang out with a metallic clang, but the scales remained largely unscathed.
Zeke retreated, eyeing the chimera warily, and attempted to exert his authority over dragonkin.
[The target is not a dragonkin; the authority does not apply.]
Just as Rahim’s chimera had not been recognized as a demon, the chimera dragonkin seemed not to be recognized as a dragonkin either.
Azmun, hiding behind the chimera that took the form of a dragon-man, glared at Zeke, searching for a chance to escape.
Zeke, noticing Azmun’s intentions, gestured to his shadow soldiers, who quickly blocked all escape routes, ensuring Azmun couldn’t flee.
Seeing this, Azmun clenched his teeth and shouted at the chimera, “Take them down and clear a path, now!”
The chimera immediately turned and charged toward the shadow soldiers, thinking it would be easier to break through them and escape rather than face Zeke. But that was a grave miscalculation.
Not a single one of Zeke’s soldiers was an easy opponent.
With a rumble, Zeroth swiftly cast a spell, binding the chimera in place. Reina, ever the knight of light, seized the opportunity, rushing forward to strike at the chimera’s neck with her sword.
Clang!
However, the sword couldn’t penetrate the tough scales that came with the chimera’s dragon-like form. Reina quickly retreated and called out to her comrades, “Its hide is as tough as Herseion’s! Attack from a distance and keep it at bay!”
Following her lead, the shadow soldiers maintained their distance, harrying the chimera with ranged attacks.
Azmun was taken aback as the experimental creature sent by Ramon Jimenez struggled against Zeke’s forces.
“I underestimated not just Zeke Draker, but the entire Black Sword Order,” he thought, realizing his mistake in assuming Zeke was merely a black knight.
“He’s no ordinary knight. He possesses magic, multiple bloodline abilities, and other unknown powers,” Azmun lamented, regretting his misjudgment. But it was too late to turn back now.
As he wallowed in regret, Zeke advanced slowly, leading his shadow spirits toward Azmun.
“Azmun Barrios, it’s time to surrender,” Zeke called out.
Azmun, ever the schemer, saw a glimmer of hope and replied, “Sir Zeke Draker, I have a proposal for you.”
Even in this dire situation, Azmun sought a way out, continuing, “Wouldn’t you like to capture the real Abel Jimenez? I can help you achieve your goal.”
Zeke nodded, “So, you know where Abel is?”
“Indeed. Without me, you’ll never find him, as he’s well hidden by Lopocale…”
“In the Imperial Tomb, right?” Zeke interrupted, causing Azmun’s face to fall.
Zeke continued, “Hiding him in the sacred resting place of past emperors—bold, to say the least. It’s practically forbidden.”
Azmun hadn’t expected Zeke to know Abel’s whereabouts. “Is there no limit to his abilities?” he wondered.
Zeke then posed a question, “Azmun, what do you think will happen if Abel destroys the sacred Imperial Tomb? Aren’t you curious about how the black knights will react?”
Azmun’s mind raced with the worst-case scenario. “Could it be…?”
Zeke smiled, “I needed a reason to mobilize the Empire’s black knights, and Lopocale conveniently placed Abel right where I needed him.”
If Abel, in his madness, destroyed the sacred site, even the neutral nobles and families would be forced to take action. Zeke intended to provoke Abel into such an act, providing a justification to rally the neutral factions.
Azmun finally understood why Zeke had willingly walked into his trap.
“Zeke Draker!” Azmun shouted, overwhelmed by a sense of defeat.
Zeke, raising his sword, addressed Azmun, “If you surrender now, I’ll spare your life. Quite a generous offer, don’t you think?”
Even in this moment, Azmun’s mind was racing. He had no choice but to make the worst possible decision.
Turning to the chimera, Azmun uttered the words of release, “Remove all power restrictions.”